Mayor Ron Littlefield issued a statement today saying he has asked Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture Administrator Missy Crutchfield to stop working on her Web site during work hours.
"I have instructed Ms. Crutchfield to remove any reference to the city of Chattanooga from her Be Communications/Be Magazine LLC website and cease working on this endeavor when in the capacity of her position with the city," Littlefield said. "Furthermore, any such private endeavor that is associated with the Department of Education, Arts & Culture must have prior permission from me, as well as City Attorney approval."
A Times Free Press investigation over the past week showed Crutchfield and her spokeswoman, Melissa Turner, had started a for-profit online magazine called Be magazine. The pair admitted to spending time at work to market the site.
They said they spent their own money to start and run the magazine.
Littlefield said Monday he thought it may not have been a wise step to take, but he said he also believed it was not done with an intent to "deceive or garner financial gain."
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.